In buildings with exterior siding panels, it is common to provide corner posts extending vertically along the corners of the building. Typically, the siding panels would be spaced slightly above ground level, and the corner posts would extend from just below the siding panels to just below the eave of the building. The corner posts provide a trim external appearance at the corners of the building. Further, the corner posts define exterior guides which help locate the siding panels, and maintain the siding members in proper orientation on the building.
A typical corner post is a generally channel-like structure which is attached to the frame of the building and defines an interior channel extending along the building. After securing the corner post to a building, it is desirable to close the ends of the corner post to seal the interior channel against ingress of animals (e.g., insects) and/or the outside environment, and to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance at the ends of the corner post. One common technique for closing an end of a corner post is to slit the part of the corner post which extends beyond the siding panels into segments, and to bend the segments inward to close the end of the interior channel of the corner post.
The present invention relates to a corner cap for attachment to the end of a corner post, to close the interior channel formed in the corner post. However, in designing the corner cap, one problem which had to be addressed was the fact that corner posts of different buildings do not always have the same corner angles. This can be due to the geometrical form of the building and its corners. It can also be due to warpage of corner posts due to environmental factors such as heat, cold, rain, ice, etc.
In any event, variations in the corner angles of corner posts presents a problem in designing a corner cap structure for attachment to the corner posts. If a corner cap is manufactured with a fixed corner angle, it is not possible to adjust that corner angle without deforming the corner cap. However, deforming the corner cap can distort the appearance of the corner cap, and can result in an imprecise fit of the corner cap with the corner post. It is possible to manufacture corner caps with different corner angles, and to try and select a particular corner cap to fit a particular corner post configuration. However, manufacturing corner caps with different corner angles is expensive, and might require having an excess of corner caps on site to try and select the corner cap most likely to fit a particular corner post configuration. Moreover, it might still be necessary to deform a corner cap in order to attach the corner cap to a corner post whose configuration has changed due to environmental factors such as heat, cold, rain, ice, etc.